Thursday, January 19, 2012

Review: Salt

Salt
by Maurice Gee The Salt Trilogy, book one

Book Description:
When his father Tarl is captured and enslaved to work in Deep Salt, Hari vows to
rescue him. This is a forbidding task: no one returns from Deep Salt. But Hari
was born and raised in Blood Burrow. He's tough and smart—and he has a secret
gift: he can communicate with animals.

The beautiful Pearl, born into
the privileged world of the ruling class known as Company, has learned forbidden
things from her mysteriously gifted maid Tealeaf. Now her father has promised
her in marriage to the powerful and ambitious Ottmar. But Pearl will never
submit to a subordinate life, so she and Tealeaf must flee.

When their
paths cross, Hari and Pearl realize that together they must discover the secrets
of Deep Salt. Their long journey through the badlands becomes far more than a
quest to save Tarl—their world is on the brink of unspeakable terror.

Review: I wanted so much to like this book. When I had
read the description, I had thought it was a stellar premise. When I finally
got a chance to read it, though, I just could not connect. The first few
chapters were great. The idea that the characters could talk to one another and
animals with their minds was fascinating. The idea of the corrupt government and
Pearl's escape from a loveless marriage sounded intriguing...

Somewhere close to halfway through
the book, though, I lost all interest. The characters were good, but I didn't
find enough explanation in the world building. I had no idea where the Company
came from or why they were taking over. I didn't understand what the
radioactive "salt" really was... I just kept coming up with more and more,
"Huh?" moments and I was frustrated enough that I almost put the book down
several times.

I really wish that
this book had given more extensive historical context to its dystopian
setting. As Gee is from New Zealand, I have a feeling that native readers in
that part of the world would draw a deeper context, but for me, it was just
vague in a lot of ways. I didn't really feel, either, as if there was enough
resolution in this book, and I know it's the first in a trilogy, but I don't
want to have to say, oh that must be addressed in book two...

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